Hear me now oh thou bleak and unbearable world
Thou art base and debauched as can be
And a knight with his banners all bravely unfurled
Now hurls down his gauntlet to thee!
I am I, Don Quixote, the Lord of La Mancha
Destroyer of Evil am I,
I will march to the sound of the trumpets of glory
Forever to conquer or die
Hear me heathens and wizards and serpents of sin
All your dastardly doings are past
For a holy endeavor is now to begin
And virtue shall triumph at last!

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Gun deaths and injuries have dropped sharply in California, even as the number of guns sold in the state has risen, according to new state data.Dealers sold 600,000 guns in California last year, up from 350,000 in 2002, according to records of sale tallied by the California Attorney General's office.

During that same period, the number of California hospitalizations due to gun injuries declined from about 4,000 annually to 2,900, a roughly 25 percent drop, according to hospital records collected by the California Department of Public Health.Firearm-related deaths fell from about 3,200 annually to about 2,900, an 11 percent drop, state health figures show.Most of the drop in firearm-related injuries and deaths can be explained by a well-documented, nationwide drop in violent crime.The number of California injuries and deaths attributed to accidental discharge of firearms also has fallen. The number of suicide deaths involving firearms has remained roughly constant.

Friday, December 28, 2012

Media stories and anti-war groups frequently say American soldier suicides outnumber combat-related deaths and the 2012 track doesn't show any improvement. Stars and Stripes says there were more suicides than combat deaths this year.

Through November this year, potentially 303 active-duty, Reserve and National Guard soldiers took their own lives. In Afghanistan 212 soldiers were killed as of Dec. 7.

With a month left in the year, the Army set a grim new record with 177 potential active-duty cases.

Last year, there were 165 confirmed suicides, which was also a record. Among Army Reserve and Guard soldiers potentially 126 took their own lives, up from 118 in all of 2011.

"About 53 percent of those who died by suicide in the military in 2011, the most recent year for which data is available, had no history of deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan, according to the Defense Department. And nearly 85 percent of military members who took their lives had no direct combat history, meaning they may have been deployed but not seen action."

Such a sad reality. There are many reasons someone who has not deployed would get to that point of taking their own lives - depression, financial, sexual, broken relationships, harassment, substance abuse, and the list can include people who joined the military hoping order and discipline would give purpose to their existence and save their lives. It doesn't always work like in the movies. What we can know is that war is not always the answer. Sometimes, people just kill themselves.